Twas' the Night Before Christmas
by The Blue Engine
Summary: When the Fat Controller's car crashes, trapping him and Lady Hatt in the snow, Thomas and the others on his branch line, along with their roadway friends, try to find him before a mysterious person finishes him off.
1. A Slip and a Miss

**Here is my first Christmas special. I hope you enjoy a slightly darker twist on the holiday, I am sure you'll enjoy it.**

10:14 PM Christmas Eve 2009

Snow was falling heavily across the Island of Sodor. The rails and roads had all been covered, making it nearly impossible to move along them. Ice was adding to the problems, and people were choosing to stay off the roads, preferring to sit by the fireplace or watch the Christmas movies that channels insisting on playing year after year.  
However, along the roads near Thomas' branch line, a little blue car was driving smoothly across the frosty roads. Sir Topham Hatt, aka The Fat Controller, was driving back from a Christmas party, with his wife, Lady Hatt, in the passenger seat, looking very grumpy.  
"What is it?" Topham asked, trying to focus on the road.  
"That party was very boring, surely Jenny could have put on a better gathering." Lady Hatt huffed.  
"I thought it was alright." Her husband replied.  
"Well, we all know you have no taste." The socialite scoffed. The Fat Controller was about to reply, but his cellphone started to ring. He quickly snatched it up, ignoring his wife's scowl.  
"Hello, who is it?" He said. The snow was getting worse, and the widescreen wipers were struggling to beat it away.  
"Hello sir." A deep voice replied.  
"Who is this?" The Fat Controller asked, puzzled. He didn't recognise the voice, and it sounded very sinister, sending a chill down his spine that snow could never do.  
"You don't need to know that." The voice answered. "I just needed to give you this call as a slight diversion."  
"Diversion?" The controller said, but his wife answered his question.  
"The car is out of control!" She shrieked. The Fat Controller threw the phone onto the floor, and quickly tried to stop his car from skidding across the frozen tarmac. But the brakes weren't working, and they smashed into a pothole. The left front tyre burst, and the car spun wildly.  
"AAAAAHHHHH!" The two yelled, as their car plunged off the road and smashed into a bank of snow near the railway lines. More snow landed on them, nearly covering the car. The airbags had activated, but the husband and wife were unconscious. The man on the other end of the phone had remained on to listen to the crash, but let out a slight chuckle and hung up, his work done for the evening.


	2. Waking Up on Christmas Eve

10:17 PM

It may be late in the evening, but Thomas and Rosie were still working. The two had been ferrying people to and fro Christmas parties all day, and had met up at Elsbridge to exchange several passengers. Both were wearing snowploughs, a blue one for Thomas and a pink one for Rosie.  
"Rotten weather." Thomas huffed. He hated snow, as it always meant that he would have to wear his snowplough, which was large and very uncomfortable. The snow had covered the platforms, so only the two crews, three porters and the guards were outside, bearing the cold.  
"I don't mind it too much." Rosie said, smiling brightly.  
"Don't let Daisy hear you say that." Thomas laughed. The diesel still hadn't got over her experience of being trapped in the snow, despite it happening many years ago. Rosie giggled, and Thomas stopped laughing quite so hard. Everyone knew that Rosie liked Thomas, and she was always trying to follow him and do exactly what he did.  
"Listen Rosie, I think we need to talk." Thomas began. But before he could continue, the guard blew his whistle and Thomas' crew clambered into his cab.  
"Finally, we can be back in the warmth!" The fireman said.  
"Shovel some more coal on and let's get out of here!" The driver said, shivering. The heat from Thomas' firebox warmed them up, and the tank engine was soon puffing out of the station. Rosie watched him go, her eyes twinkling until the snow swallowed him up. Suddenly, the stationmaster rushed out of his office.  
"There's been an accident!" He exclaimed.  
"What sort of accident?" One of the porters asked.  
"I just got a call from the signalman from Toryreck. He thinks he has seen a car crash, and it could be Sir Topham Hatt's." The stationmaster explained, looking very shocked.  
"We'll head down the line and see if we can find him." Rosie's driver said.  
"Leave the coaches here, we'll bring the other engines down to help out." The stationmaster said. Rosie looked very shocked from what she had heard, and agreed to go and look for her owner.  
"What a merry Christmas." She sighed, and chugged away moments later.

10:23 PM

The yard at Ffarquhar was very quiet, except for the patter of snow. A Christmas tree stood on the station platform, twinkling and providing some light to the area. Several lampposts resided around the area, lighting up the thick layers of snow. A shed stood at a section of the yard. It had been rebuilt frequently in the past few years to accommodate the new engines. Currently, only Toby, Percy and Flora were in the main shed, with Daisy, Victoria and Henrietta in the coach shed next door. Snowploughs stood by the shed, awaiting for use the next morning. The engines had to work for part of the day tomorrow, but they were more annoyed about the snow then it being Christmas. As they slept, several men entered the sheds. They all went towards one of the steam engines, and climbed into their cabs. Toby had awoken, and barely registered them, but the time of night seemed strange.  
"Is it Santa?" Percy asked, waking up.  
"Don't be daft, it's the firelighters." Toby retorted, grouchy.  
"Why are they here?" Flora grumbled, slowly waking.  
"Sir Topham Hatt has possibly had a car accident, we need to find him before and Lady Hatt freeze to death." The firelighter in Percy's cab explained. The engines were shocked, and decided to stay quiet while they got prepared.


	3. Hit and Run

10:24 PM

Daisy had been dreaming of a hot summer's day, speeding down the branch line, the sun beating down on her. There were fields of flowers alongside the tracks, bees and birds flying around. This was the best time of year, and the main time of year when she was happy....  
"Daisy... come on Daisy... wake up...."  
The rail car woke up, and was freezing within seconds. Someone had entered her shed, and the snow was coming on. Annie and Clarabel weren't there, so Thomas hadn't returned. She was surprised to see her driver, who was already opening her up.  
"What do you want?" She snapped.  
"The Fat Controller has crashed his car, and we have to go and look for him." The driver replied.  
"I have to go out, in the _SNOW!_" Daisy growled. "It's snowing!" Just then, a workmen appeared, carrying a small snowplough. The Fat Controller had brought a number of snowploughs for all his engines to prevent them from being trapped in the snow. Daisy's one was silver, narrow and rectangular, almost the size of her face. The workman quickly assembled it, and Daisy felt slightly more confident.  
"Come on Daisy, there are only going to be three engines looking for him until the others fires are lit." Her driver explained, and the worker gave the thumbs up for her to leave. The drivers started her up, and Daisy was soon out in the storm, being pelted with snow and her wheels already slipping on the frosty tracks.  
"Why isn't Mavis helping, surely she won't have any issues with icy hills and level crossings today!" The diesel squawked. "She could get up as well."

10:29  
"Get up Mavis, looks like we have a job to do." The diesel shunter awoke, surprised to find her driver there.  
"What's wrong?" She said, instantly awake.  
"Sir Topham Hatt has crashed his car, we are wanted to collect Rosie's passengers as she needs to help with the search." The driver explained, and he quickly started Mavis up. She was a bit upset. She was usually shunned to the side, watching from the sidelines as the others were involved in adventures and had all the fun. It seemed that, once again, she would suffer the same fate.  
"Ok then, let's go out." Mavis sighed. She rolled out of her shed, and found herself surrounded by snow. All the trucks were shivering and the rocks appeared to be lumps of snow. Mavis was happy about this, they had been acting very pesky earlier that day, and she wanted them to be brought under control. The diesel gathered speed and was soon racing along the tramway, enjoying the night time breeze and pushing through the snow. Mavis soon neared the level crossing were she had once crashed, and found that the rails were rather icy around here.  
"I hope I don't have an accident." She muttered aloud. Then, two eyes appeared on the road, shining onto her.  
"Bugger, car." Mavis' driver said.  
"Well, we should have right of way." Mavis said, smiling. But the car's driver didn't seem to care. He accelerated, and reached the level crossing just as Mavis began to cross. Her driver quickly braked, but it was no use. Her lamp caught the man's face: mid-forties, with a beard and balaclava covering most of his face, but there seemed to be a large scar on his nose. He was wearing a thick green jumper, and dark gloved hands that were gripped to the steering wheel. He turned the wheel, and Mavis smashed into the side of his 1998 Dark Red Holden Astra, sending it spinning and badly damaging the boot and side windows. Mavis finally came to a halt, feeling a bit sore.  
"Hello?" Her driver yelled.  
But the car had already driven off.


	4. Flashbacks

10:31

Rosie thundered down the lines, ignoring the snow battering her boiler, and following the few beams of light she had to guide her journey. The moon had been blocked out by the snow clouds, so only her lamp and several lampposts could help her see. She was mainly looking for the lamp attached to Clarabel, which would mean she had found Thomas. Ah, Thomas, her one true love. Rosie had fallen for the blue tank engine since the day they had first met....  
_It was her second day on the Island, having spent the first day being checked over at Crovan's Gate. Once she had been pronounced fit to work, a blue tender engine and a crane came and took her away.  
"My name is Edward." The blue engine said. "And this is Rocky."  
"Hello." The crane added.  
"Hi." Rosie said timidly. Her first impression was that they were very friendly, but she still felt a bit awkward in her new home. Edward and Rocky spoke to her all the way there, and she slowly felt more confident. They passed a number of other tender engines, who all said 'Hello' or 'Welcome to the railway.' Rosie eventually reached the branch line where she would work. Rocky lifted her onto the tracks, and Sir Topham Hatt, or The Fat Controller as he was apparently nicknamed, stood there, waiting for her.  
"Welcome Rosie, I hope you'll enjoy working on this line." He said. Rosie smiled, and was soon prepared and taken for a test drive. She quickly soaked up the beautiful scenery, and saw many different vehicles, including a red bus and a white helicopter. She had spent so much time looking at the trees that she didn't notice another engine right in front of her. She smashed into his buffers.  
"Hey, watch it." The engine said, laughing. Rosie looked up, and saw a shining blue engine in front of her.  
"S-s-sorry." She said.  
"It's alright. I'm Thomas, I run this line. You must be Rosie." Rosie giggled, and Thomas laughed nervously.  
_"Rosie, concentrate!"  
The pink engine snapped back into reality. She had dozed off, completely forgetting that she was trying to go down a frozen line in a storm. The wind picked up and she had lost all control.  
"We think you may have hit something." Her fireman yelled. "Your brakes aren't working for some reason." Rosie was petrified, even more so when she realised there was something on her track.


	5. Automobile Assistance

10:32

Rosie's driver applied the brakes quickly, and Rosie suddenly realised that the thing in front of her was Clarabel!  
"Rosie's here, Rosie's here!" The coach exclaimed.  
"Rose's here? Rosie's here?" Annie replied, shocked.  
"What do you mean?" Thomas asked, staring at the red signal in front of him.  
"Rosie's here! Rosie's here!" The coaches gasped, realising they were about to be hit.  
"I am here, I am here!" Rosie yelled, as her crew leapt onto the snow as she smashed into Clarabel.  
"Ouch." Clarabel groaned. Thomas began to roll forwards, and the passengers cried out. The blue tank engine reached an area of track where the snow was very deep. He drove into it, his snowplough easily pushing it aside. But the track was weak, and it tipped, causing Thomas to derail, and he skidded along a bank. Annie and Clarabel rolled forwards, and Rosie finally stopped alongside Thomas.  
"Oh, hello Thomas." She said, chuckling. Thomas glared at her. Well, half glared, as the side of his face was covered in snow.  
"I guess you had a reason for pushing me into the snow?" Thomas growled. Rosie laughed, and began to explain the situation.

10:34

As Rosie explained about the Fat Controller's car, Terence the tractor was chugging down the road. He had broken door on his way home from doing some work for Famer McColl, and his driver had only got back from getting fuel a short time ago. Now he was travelling home in the cold, struggling to see. He could make out some lights, but was unaware that they were Rosie and Thomas' lamps. As he rolled along the snow covered tarmac, he noticed something in the snow. It was easy to see as it was blue and very visible amongst all the white.  
"Stop, I think something is there!" Terence exclaimed, as he driver brought him to a halt.  
"What is it?" He said. He noticed the blue, and was shocked. "I am pretty sure that is Sir Topham Hatt's car."  
"I would tow him out, but we need to dig some of that snow out." Terence said.  
"Too bad we left your plough behind." His driver said. "What should we do?" Terence thought, but then he had an idea.  
"I know who could help us out!"

10:46

It was lucky that Miss Jenny had stayed behind after the party, otherwise Terence and his driver would have had to have looked somewhere else for assistance.  
"Sure you can borrow some of my machines." She said. She walked over to the sheds, and found Jack, Alfie, Oliver, Kelly and Isabella.  
"What is it?" Jack mumbled.  
"I need you lot to come with me." Miss Jenny said, clicking her fingers. "The Fat Controller has crashed his car, so I need you guys to help Terence rescue him."  
"That is very bad." Kelly said. "Come on guys, we have a rescue to attend to."


	6. A Frosty Reception

10: 48

With lots of hard work, the firelighters were able to get the three steam engines fires built up enough for them to start moving. Their crews arrived, and the three engines had their final preparations done. "I hope the Fat Controller is alright." Flora said.  
"I am sure he'll be just fine." Toby replied, smiling warmly. Percy looked up towards the roof, and then sighed.  
"Do you think Santa will still leave us presents if we leave?" The saddle tank asked.  
"For the last time Percy, Santa doesn't exist!" Toby snapped, losing his patience. "There could be some presents when we get back, but they would be from our drivers, or firemen, or firelighters, or Alicia the mouse, but not from a fictional creature. We need you to focus on one fat man tonight, and it isn't Santa." Percy looked shocked, but Flora couldn't help but giggle. Toby left the shed, and the points were changed for him to collect his coaches.  
"You sounded a bit cross." Henrietta said, giggling.  
"There was no need to be that harsh." Victoria added, as the three were coupled together.  
"I know, but I am in a bad mood." Toby huffed. "I don't like getting up in the middle of the night. Let's just get the rescue workers and save the controller."  
"Yes sir." The coaches said together, and they burst into laughter. Toby rolled his eyes but still laughed, and the cavalcade headed off. Flora and Percy followed behind.  
"He will apologise." Flora said, smiling sweetly. "Just wait until morning."  
"I will, Toby can't stay mad for long." Percy agreed. As they left the yard, passing Toby at the station, a car past, its right side badly damaged....

10:51

Rosie's passengers were not impressed about waiting for their train, and several were less impressed with Mavis. She was shivering after being attacked by the snow, and her front still felt sore from the crash.  
"What has held you up?" The stationmaster asked, wrapped inside a thick coat.  
"We hit a car on our way here." Her driver explained.  
"Again?" The stationmaster said, and Mavis growled at him, and he took a step backwards.  
"Yes, again. We passed Daisy on our way down, she is moving a bit slowly." The driver said, stepping onto the platform. The porter wasn't there, so the two talked while they waited for him to show back up. Mavis groaned, but then she realised that she hadn't had her brakes applied properly. Maybe, just maybe, she could get herself to move forwards, and then she could travel down the line and look for The Fat Controller, instead of just taking some moaning party-goers home. She checked her driver and the stationmaster weren't watching, then she began to move forwards. The icy rails were actually being useful, allowing her to quickly gather the speed she needed. Mavis couldn't resist laughing, and her driver turned.  
"Mavis, STOP!" He yelled. But the diesel was already rolling down the line.

10:53

The Holden Astra had been moving down the road for a while, having a number of issues following being hit by Mavis. But, eventually, the car pulled off the road, and drove for another minute before reaching a battered old house near Elsbridge. It was one storey, made out of a red-brown brick. All the windows were boarded up, and the roof was flat and made of black tile. There was no guttering, no garage, and barely any garden; just a small area of dead grass. The snow had reached the house, making it look more attractive than it really was. The scar-nosed driver stopped the car alongside the house, and quickly hurried up to the where the front door should be, but there was just a holey, stained sheet. He pushed through, and entered a very damp, musty house. The walls had water stained, and all the white wallpaper had peeled off. There was no carpet, only the floorboards, many of which were missing. The man hurried into another room, where he found the only furnishing in the house: a chilly bin that had no ice, a green, plastic fold-out chair, and a small portable T.V. that had been stolen many years ago. A man was sitting in the chair, staring at the T.V. that he didn't seem to know wasn't on.  
"Did you get the grenade?" The man in the chair said. He was wearing a black leather jacket and denim jeans, which didn't seem to fit with the season. His head was shaven, and was covered completely in tattoos. If he took his jacket off, it would reveal his muscular body, also littered with tattoos. The only name people knew him by was P, as he had been heavily addicted to the substance only a few years ago, and had done some work as a dealer. The scarred man had been one of his few clients, who he had regularly beaten for not paying, hence his scar.  
"Yes sir, I got the grenade sir." The weak man replied, and pulled a wooden box out from his jumper. The man in the chair opened the chilly bin up, which had two guns, a thin amount of money, a box of rubber gloves and some food inside. He put on a rubber glove, and opened the wooden box. The grenade was in there, looking quite peaceful despite its deadly nature.  
"Good, very good." He said. "We'll leave soon, I want to finish watching this." The scarred man nodded, and left the room. P watched him leave, and then turned back to the T.V., thoroughly enjoy watching the darkness.


	7. Discovery by Accident

10:54

Daisy moved cautiously through the snow, eyeing the banks around the tracks as if they were monsters, waiting to leap out and attack her. Her snowplough was allowing a nice, speedy journey, but the railcar was still very afraid.  
_I don't want to get stuck in the snow again. _She thought, remembering the horrific time many years ago when she had been trapped in the snow for a week. She wasn't going to let it happen today. She soon reached Elsbridge, and was interested to see that there were still several coaches waiting at the platform. A guard was standing by the coaches, and quickly flagged her down.  
"What seems to be the problem?" Daisy's driver said, pulling a window down to talk.  
"Mavis was suppose to collect Rosie's passengers, but then she ended up going on a runaway." The guard explained. "Would you guys mind taking the passengers through to Toryreck?"  
"Not at all, we are heading there anyway." The driver said. Mavis' driver rushed over, squelching through the snow.  
"Could I come with, I need to go and rescue my engine." He said, half laughing. Daisy's driver agreed, and he clambered onboard with the passengers.  
"Let's make this quick!" Daisy huffed, and the driver quickly got them ready to move.

10:55

Terence and the Pack were moving quickly through the snow, but the ground was slippery and they couldn't move as quickly as they wanted.  
"We need to move in a sensible manner." Oliver said.  
"Yes, if we speed ahead, we could end up slipping or having an accident." Kelly added.  
"But if we move slowly, we may just end up getting stuck on some ice." Isabella added.  
"Good point." Jack said. "I vote that we head off."  
"I second that." Isabella said, and the two picked up speed.  
"Are they always like this?" Terence asked, and the others nodded.  
Unbeknownst to the two, they had reached the site of the Fat Controller's accident. There was a strange liquid covering a section of the road. The two machines drove straight onto it, and instantly veered out of control.  
"JACK, ISABELLA!" Alfie yelled. Nearby, Thomas, Rosie and their crews heard this commotion. They turned, and watched as the two spun out of control. Jack plunged off the side, landing with a thud onto the railway lines. Isabella veered off further down the road, and smashed onto a very solid area of snow. She bounced off and landed, half on tracks, half on a bank of snow.  
"What the hell is going on?" Thomas' driver yelled, and he rushed forwards. Thomas' fireman followed, along with several passengers. The roadway vehicles came to a halt, all looking shocked.  
"Was it just me, or did someone hear a bang when Isabella landed over there?" Alfie asked.  
"It must be the Fat Controller's car!" Terence exclaimed.  
"See, going fast was the way to go!" Isabella said. Kelly gave her a look, and she remained quiet.  
"Come on Rosie, let's go see what we can do to help." Her driver said.  
"Sure." The pink engine nodded. Thomas looked relieved that she was leaving, and half a minute later, she was reversing away from him. But she hadn't been expecting something to be behind her...


	8. Love, Engine Style

10:55

As Jack and Isabella spun out of control, Mavis had been moving out of control in her own way. She had been rolling down the line for several minutes, and had been slowly gathering speed. But, due to her having no driver, she was unable to stop.  
_This isn't quite what I expected. _She thought. But after rolling a few more metres, Mavis realised that she had arrived at the possible site of the crash. Her lamp light caught an engine's bunker, and it was pink.  
_Ah, Rosie, of course! _It took her a few moments to realise that Rosie was on the same track as her, and there was no one around to change the points.  
_This could be painful. _She thought, and tried to honk her horn, but no one was there to activate it. There were some cries and crashes, and Mavis looked and saw Jack and Isabella crash. She stared at them, interested by the calamity, and when she turned back around, she realised Rosie was reversing!  
"LOOK OUT!" Mavis yelled. She saw Rosie's driver look around to see who was yelling, and then the diesel and steam engine collided. Rosie had only been moving slowly, and Mavis hadn't been going fast enough to cause any real damage, but she did knock her driver and fireman out of the cab.  
"Hey, watch it!" The fireman said, half buried in snow. Rosie bumped into Annie and Clarabel, who helped slow them down. Rosie's crew got up and applied Rosie's brakes, and then they rushed over to Mavis and applied hers.  
"Where is your driver?" Rosie asked.  
"I left him behind at Elsbridge." Mavis said, laughing nervously.  
"Ah, a runaway." Thomas said. "They are fun, until you realise that no one can stop you if you get into trouble."  
"Exactly." Mavis said, and laughed properly.  
"I think we should move you out of the way, your driver will probably be on his way down." Rosie's driver said. The fireman went off to speak to the signalman, and Mavis was prepared to be moved.  
"Looks like it is just us two again." Rosie said to Thomas.  
"Oh joy." Thomas muttered, and Annie and Clarabel giggled.  
"Don't worry about him, Rosie." Annie said.  
"You're far too good for him." Clarabel added, and Rosie and the coaches laughed, as Thomas seethed in fury.

*

Terence led Kelly, Alfie and Oliver down a safe part of the hill to get to their friends.

"You two dig away the snow." Kelly told Alfie and Oliver. "I'll take care of these two."  
"Good idea." Alfie said, and the two excavators rolled over towards some snow.  
"I think that we should try and find the exact location of the car first." Oliver suggested.  
"How should we do that?" Alfie asked.  
"Just use your scoop and prod around the snow." Oliver explained. He raised his scoop, and then forced it into the snow. It didn't hit anything, showing that the car wasn't underneath.  
"I am pretty sure the car is closer to that fence." Terence said, idling up alongside. "It was there were I saw the blue."  
"I didn't see any blue when I went over." Jack said. His front tyre had burst, making him useless in this operation. There were dozens of people standing around, including Thomas' crew and the guard.  
"Aren't there some shovels we could use?" A passenger said. Just then, Mavis pulled up, and Rosie's driver prepared to get out.  
"There could be some supply trucks somewhere." She said. "I sometimes add those to the trains I shunt for certain jobs."  
"And there is probably some houses nearby with shovels." Terence's driver suggested. It was decided that Thomas' driver would take Mavis and some passengers, and look for some trains that could have shovels. Terence and his driver went off to look for any houses nearby. Isabella watched as the two set off.  
"Can't I go with them?" She asked Kelly, who was lifting her out of some snow.  
"No, we need you to hold the snow so it won't get in the way." Kelly explained, and the lorry let out a huff. Alfie and Oliver quickly began their search, and within a minute, they could see some roof.

11:01 PM

Percy and Flora came out of the Hackenbeck Tunnel, and were out in the open, frosty air. The countryside looked very different during winter: the fields were white and fluffy, and looked like they had been covered in feathers. The trees may be leafless, but the snow made them look beautiful no matter what. There were no animals out, so it was all very quiet. In the distance, the two could see lights twinkling from people's houses as they enjoyed the holiday season.  
"I wish we got to celebrate Christmas properly." Flora said.  
"I know, they get presents and get to have parties." Percy huffed.  
"I don't really care about presents or parties." Flora said, and she looked at the saddle tank. "My wish is that we could be closer together, instead of having to take coal trucks or get locked up in our sheds all day."  
"Wouldn't that bring us closer together?" Percy asked.  
"Not in an enjoyable way. I don't want to get to know my friends by being trapped inside a cold, dank, musty building!" Percy laughed, and Flora chuckled as well.  
"I'd like to be decorated." Percy said. "I think it would be cool to have lights hanging from our cabs or a star on our domes." Flora couldn't help laugh, and Percy looked at her quizzically.  
"You're red, green and even gold, you were painted to celebrate Christmas." She said, and Percy laughed as well. They eventually stopped laughing, and could hear Toby behind them, his bell swaying in the wind. The two engines looked at each other, and it quickly became very awkward. Percy was about to speak, but Flora instantly blushed, and he stopped. The tram looked away, and gasped.  
"What is it?" Her driver asked.  
"Look at that car over there!" Percy and the two crews looked over the river at a dark red Holden. Inside, there were two men arguing. They couldn't make out their faces, except that one man appeared to be have a multi-coloured head.  
And he was waving a gun.  
"Quick, we need to follow them!" Percy's driver yelled.  
"Good idea." Percy's fireman agreed. Percy and Flora looked at each worriedly as they picked up speed.  
Neither of them wanted to chase a gun-weilding mad man on Christmas Eve.


	9. The Other Side of the Road

10:55

P stared at the T.V. for several seconds, and then grabbed a remote that was next to his feet. He didn't know it had no batteries, and pressed a button, 'turning' the T.V. off.  
"I am ready to leave." He yelled. The scarred man appeared from the kitchen, still clutching the wooden box. P had instructed him to hold him, forgetting to mention his fingerprints would be all over it. The man was called Augustus, but P never called him by his name. In his eyes, Augustus was a worthless piece of slime that he had had the misfortune of getting to know. Augustus used to collect drugs from P to give to other criminal associates. After a while, he got into a problem with the police, and was released if he led them to P. P kidnapped Augustus, and has been making him work for him since then. When P decided to get his revenge, Augustus was the perfect person to take the fall.  
"That is good, did you enjoy the show?" Augustus asked.  
"It was fine, I hope they play that special again next year." P said, grinning dopily. Augustus nodded, and turned around and grabbed an oil can. As they walked out of the decrepit house, he poured the oil around. Most of it fell through the gaps in the floor, but it was what P wanted. Once P was outside, Augustus dropped the can, and lit a match. He dropped it onto the floor, and quickly ran. In a few seconds, all of the oil was alight. The cold house was instantly warm, but quickly became stifling. Augustus ran through the sheet, and rushed over to the boot of the car. P had unlocked it, and more oil cans and three gas bottles waited. The criminal duo gathered some cans, took the tops of, and lobbed them at the boarded up windows. The cardboard was easily knocked aside, and was instantly vaporised as the cans exploded. Then the two grabbed the gas bottles, and threw them through a window at the back of the house.  
"We need to leave, quickly." P growled, and Augustus nodded. They ran across the snowy patch of grass, slammed the boot shut, and raced around to the front. Augustus got into the driver's seat, and P put on a rubber glove and held the grenade. He had a handgun tucked into a holster in his shirt, and Augustus failed to notice the bulge. As they sped out of the driveway, the fire reached the gas bottles. There was an explosion, taking out half the house and sending brick and tile into the sky.

10: 59

The Holden Astra was soon racing along the Sudrian countryside, leaving the flaming building behind. P looked into the rear view mirror, and could see smoke rising in the distance. The sirens were very audible, and Augustus was petrified that a police car would appear any second and arrest them. P could see this, and he laughed.  
"What?" Augustus asked, sweating streaking down his face and into his beard.  
"You, and the fact that you're afraid of some cops." He chuckled.  
"Well, why aren't you?"  
"There is no way they can link us back to that house. I have covered our tracks very well. No police officer in all of the United Kingdom could catch us." As he finished, P turned to Augustus. "Unless you stuff up, of course." He added. Augustus smiled nervously, and P sneered. They drove in silence for another minute, and soon were pulling up alongside the Hackenbeck tunnel. Augustus stared at it, and was shocked to see two engines, a green one and a yellow one, pulling out. He tried to brake, but P slapped him.  
"Keep driving you moron!" He hissed.  
"But there are some of those engines about." Augustus explained.  
"There's always an engine around on this bloody island!" P growled. He looked over, and saw a brown engine emerge from the tunnel, two coaches behind it. He sighed, and pulled the gun out from the holster. Augustus squealed, and briefly lost control of the car, catching Flora's attention.  
"If any of those passengers try and get to us, I'll put a bullet between their eyes." P said, smiling, revealing his rotten teeth. The two looked, and saw that the engines were moving faster.  
"They've seen us!" Augustus gasped.  
"Then drive faster you moron!" P roared, and Augustus stamped onto the accelerator.


	10. Uncovered

11:02

Daisy arrived at the rescue operation, and was surprised to see so many engines, vehicles and people there.  
"Woah!" She gasped, and Rosie and Thomas looked at her.  
"I see you have my passengers." Rosie smiled.  
"I know, would you mind taking them?" Daisy asked. "I want to go home."  
"Don't we all." Thomas laughed.  
"I don't have any coaches, and we can't just cram them into Annie and Clarabel." Rosie said, and Daisy sighed. Mavis' driver came out of the door, and quickly searched around for his diesel.  
"She went to go and look for some supplies." Thomas' fireman explained. Some of the passengers got out of Daisy and headed towards the rescue operation. Alfie and Oliver were still searching for the car, but the snow was falling too fast and it was too cold to concentrate.  
"If we are getting cold, imagine how they feel!" Oliver sighed.  
"We need to keep going." Alfie said, shivering. The three engines and the other Pack members watched as they continued to work. Thomas' driver walked over.  
"I think that we should try and do some other jobs while we wait for them to get back." He said.  
"Such as?" Daisy's driver asked.  
"I could pull Thomas out of the snow!" Rosie said excitedly.  
"I'm fine here." Thomas said, looking petrified, but his driver nodded.  
"I'll go and get her ready." Rosie's fireman said, and he rushed over to the tank engine.  
"I'll work as her driver." Daisy's driver said. Daisy gasped at this, and looked up towards her driver.  
"So you're just going to leave me here?" The rail car fumed.  
"You'll be alright for a few minutes." Her driver replied, chuckling. Daisy blushed, annoyed about being embarrassed in front of the others.  
"You can chat to me." Jack suggested, who was still stuck on the tracks. Daisy gave him a disgusted look, and the front loader remained quiet. Thomas' crew looked through Annie and Clarabel, and they were able to find some chains that they passed to Daisy's driver. Thomas looked very displeased with the arrangement, while Rosie sat there and smiled.  
"We've found them!" Oliver exclaimed. Everyone turned, and they could all see a patch of blue in the middle of the snow, illuminated by Oliver's headlights.  
"Quickly, dig!" Kelly yelled, and the two excavators began to work.

11:04

It was very quiet inside the car. The snow was muffling out any other noise, and the two bodies lay there as if they were only asleep. The airbags were like pillows, and Sir Topham Hatt and Lady Hatt were enjoying their little break from reality. Sir Topham Hatt had a large bruise on his forehead, and his right arm was at an awkward angle, having smashed through the window when the car flipped. Lady Hatt had a large cut on her forehead, and blood was trickling down her neck. The two were lucky to be alive, let alone only be partially injured. The snow had saved them from hitting the ground, which would have caused a greater impact and greater damage. There were cracks in all the windows, and the headlights had smashed and the bonnet was bashed.  
Sir Topham Hatt groaned, and began to twitch. There was a banging above his head, annoying his sleep. As he fully awoke, he began to realise the pain in his arm, and that it was very cold.  
"H-h-honey." He mumbled, and he saw Lady Hatt next to him. He suddenly remembered everything: the party, driving, the call, the voice, the car spinning, and then the crash. He looked around, and could see he was still inside the car. The snow was coming in through a crack in the window, and a piece of glass was stuck to his thick arms. There was still a thudding, and he quickly straightened himself.  
"Hello?" He cried, but he was still weak. "Is anyone up there?" Lady Hatt began to stir, and there was the sound of whistles and horns honking. Something hit the window, and Sir Topham Hatt realised it was a scoop.  
"Hello?" He yelled, his voice stronger.  
"What's going on?" Lady Hatt asked.  
"We're being rescued." Her husband replied. There was a crack as some of the broken glass was hit, but the couple ignored it. There was more scraping, and snow began to move off the windscreen. They looked up and could see Alfie.  
"I see them!" The little excavator exclaimed. "Stand back!" He yelled, and Sir Topham Hatt realised he was talking to them.  
"Look out!" He said to his wife, and he lifted their air bags up to shield their faces. Alfie lifted his scoop up, and then smashed it onto the windscreen. The broken glass cascaded into the car, and Lady Hatt let out a tiny cry.  
"Quickly, grab onto my arm." Oliver said, and he lowered it into the car.  
"You go up first." Sir Topham Hatt told his wife, and she nodded. She unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed onto the scoop, and Oliver lifted her to safety.

11:06

Percy, Flora and Toby thundered down the line, chasing after the Holden Astra. There weren't any stations until Elsbridge, so one of the searchers called the police on his mobile. The local police had been busy attending to a suspicious house fire, but they sent several cars out to follow the Astra.  
"Why weren't the police involved earlier?" Henrietta said.  
"What do you mean?" Victoria asked.  
"How come they aren't at the scene." The brown coach asked.  
"They were probably busy with breath testing," Toby's fireman called. "And probably asked us to find them first and then they would come and investigate."  
"I am pretty sure the Sodor Police doesn't have a digger to look through snow." Toby added, and Victoria giggled. All of a sudden, something smashed into Toby's roof, hitting his bell and causing it to fall off.  
"What was that?" The tram fumed. His question was answered by a loud bang, and this time one of his front windows shattered.  
"We're being shot at!" His driver yelled.


	11. Pain for Trains

11:06

P was grumpy about the silent trip, and was sick of just having Augustus for company. Bored, he turned the radio on. The radio was old and P could only get it to tune to a news station.  
"_... And police have issued a warning to anyone on the roads. A late nineties, dark red Holden Astra has been spotted around Hackenbeck, heading towards Elsbridge. The passenger, male with possible tattoos on his head, was seen with a gun. The driver, also male with a beard, seems to be held hostage. The police recommend that this car be avoided until they are caught...." _P turned the radio off, and then he let out a roar.  
"How do they know?" He cried, then turned to Augustus. "Move your head, I need my revenge."  
"What revenge?"  
"Those blasted engines must be involved. One of them has a train." P explained, and pulled his gun out. Augustus nodded, and ducked down. P pulled the trigger, and within a second there was a bang, the driver's window shattered and there was a clang in the distance.  
"I should have put my window down." Augustus muttered. P chuckled, and he fired again.  
"I don't care if you have to drive at the speed of sound, just get to Toryreck before I shove this gun where the sun don't shine!" P growled, and he quickly fired again.

11:07

The third bullet smashed into one of Henrietta's front window, nearly hitting a volunteer.  
"Ouch!" The coach groaned. "Can you go faster Toby, I want to avoid the madman in the car!"  
"You know I can't go very fast." Toby snapped. There was another bang, and this time the bullet hit Toby's cowcatcher, leaving a dent. Percy and Flora were rushing quickly, but were still worried for their friend.  
"What should we do?" Flora whimpered. The man was looking at them, and was lifting the gun towards her. Flora gasped, and quickly released a large amount of steam.  
"Good idea." Percy said, and he released some as well. Toby saw the white clouds rising, and copied his friends. Soon, three large clouds were travelling along the tracks. The man in the car shot wildly, and only one hit, smashing into Percy's cab roof. Flora and Percy came to a halt, and Toby came to a stop alongside.  
"He's driven off." The male tram said, groaning about his pain. The Holden Astra had sped ahead, using the steam to the inhabitants advantage.  
"We have to find the Fat Controller, those people are probably after him as well." Percy suggested.  
"Oh don't be ridiculous!" Flora said. "They are probably just some weird criminals, but we do need to find him." The three engines all nodded, and they quickly sent off moments later. As they left, three police cars appeared behind them. They stared at the engines, and turned their sirens off. They didn't want the suspects to hear them approaching.

11:08

"We need to find that fat moron." P hissed, looking for more bullets inside the glove compartment.  
"Of course sir." Augustus agreed, and he continued to flaw the accelerator. He was shivering from the snow coming in through the window, and he could feel the glass in a rather uncomfortable place, but he knew P would get grumpy with him if he stopped to pull it out. Augustus looked at the box holding the grenade, and gulped. P was a far too mentally unstable to be in possession of such a dangerous object. He also knew that his head would be on the chopping block if he so much as questioned P. P looked at his slave, and glared at him.  
"Keep driving, I don't want those stupid engines catching up to us!" He snarled, and signalled that Elsbridge was right up ahead.  
They were nearly there.

11:10

Both of the Hatt's had been safely lifted out of their car, and were slowly feeling better.  
"Thank you all for helping us." Sir Topham Hatt said, wrapped in a blanket that was in a first aid box inside Daisy. Lady Hatt was also wrapped up, and Thomas' fireman was working on fixing applying pressure to her forehead.  
"It was nothing." Alfie said, grinning, and there was some laughter. An ambulance was on its way, along with a police car to investigate the crash. Terence and Mavis had both returned, and the passengers had all returned to their coaches. Mavis was preparing to take Annie and Clarabel, and some workers were still attaching chains and ropes between Thomas and Rosie. Kelly had moved Isabella and Jack onto the road, and a call had been sent out for a breakdown crane to come. Terence's driver was walking along the road, investigating it for himself. He could see several tyre tracks, and thought that was rather odd. There wasn't any snow on the ground, only a liquid. He wiped his finger through it, and sniffed it. Terence was watching him, and looked around. The trail of liquid led into the snow, right near the Fat Controller's car.  
"What do you think?" The tractor asked. His driver walked back, about to speak.  
He moved just in time.  
A car veered around the corner, tyres screeching and smashing into the fences. Terence's driver yelled out, and the crews moved the two Hatts out of the way, hiding them behind Mavis. All of the passengers ducked, and the workers near Thomas hid in the snow. The car skidded to halt, but skidded and rolled onto the snow. A man opened the passenger door, and pulled a gun out, causing Daisy to gasp.  
"No one is going to get hurt as long as I am told where one Sir Topham Hatt is." The man said, and pointed the gun towards Annie and Clarabel, his finger firmly on the trigger.


	12. Revelations and Confrontations

11:13

Silence had dawned upon the crash site. No one was moving a muscle, and everyone was staring towards the man with the gun. The man was getting agitated, and he kept staring at Daisy and the coaches, as if expecting The Fat Controller to walk out and give himself up.  
"Um, P, maybe you should look in here." Everyone turned, and they could see another man there, who had a beard and a scarred nose. The man with the gun, or 'P' as he had been called, walked towards him. The other man was standing next to the car. P looked in through the broken windscreen, but let out a disgruntled noise.  
"Nothing is in there!" He yelled, and he turned the gun around and used the barrel to hit the other man with. He fell to the ground, clutching his already injured nose.  
"W-w-who are you." Mavis said quietly. P looked at her, and smiled.  
"My name, or the one I shall use, is P." He said. "This piece of filth is called August or July, something like that."  
"Augustus." Augustus muttered, and got a kick in the stomach  
"I didn't ask you to talk." P growled. He put the gun inside his holster and walked over to Mavis. "I know you, you're that diesel that works near that quarry."  
"And I know that Augustus man." Mavis mumbled.  
"Really? How?" P said, turning towards his assistant.  
"Yes, we hit his car on our way here." Mavis explained, looking rather terrorised. P nodded, and then began to laugh.  
"I was wondering why the car had been damaged." He said, and he walked away from the diesel.  
"Why do you want to hurt the Fat Controller?" Daisy asked. P turned on her, and stared into her eyes. The rail car shivered, and P started to walk closer towards her.  
"That is a very good question." P said. "I was hoping someone would ask me this. Now that they have, I shall explain." The snow seemed to stop falling, as if it didn't want to disturb the story. The sirens of police cars and the ambulance could all be heard in the distance, but P seemed to be oblivious to them. He just wanted to tell his story.  
"Many years ago, I use to work as a signalman for this fine railway. I loved my job, and it was one of the happiest I had ever been. I never really got along with the other workers, but I didn't care. I was only there to make money, not make friends with some people I didn't even like. Then one day, I was told that I had to do some relief work for a signalman at Toryreck. I thought that that would be an interesting change, and I could even spend some time getting to know other engines. I was looking forward to it, and arrived on that day and started working. However, something went a bit wrong. It was the middle of the day, and I admit I was a bit distracted by some animals outside the window. I didn't notice that the level crossing gates were broken, and that part of my job was too go down and ensure that it was fixed. I didn't know, and a mini-van come along the road. The gates were open for the road, but one of the gates swung open. It hit the van, and it went out of control and crashed. I heard the accident, but I couldn't get a hold of anyone because the van had hit a telephone pole. Half the people on the van died, and another person was paralyzed from the waist down. As I was interviewed by police, one Sir Topham Hatt came to me and said that I had to be fired, as apparently I was to blame for the accident." At this point, P pulled his gun out, and held it tightly. Lady Hatt clung onto her husband's arm, whose face was very sullen.  
"Of course, I was arrested, but they couldn't charge me for much. I was sent to jail for three years, and got out about four years ago. I went back to the railway to get my job back, but they told me that they couldn't allow me back in. So I had to use my little savings to buy this dingy house in order to go to a new job, but it was very unappealing. I got into the drug dealing business, and that was how I came to meet that pile of garbage over there." He signalled towards Augustus, who had managed to stand up and grunted towards the others. "He used to courier drugs for some other criminals, but he stuffed up and nearly got my arrested. He has done work for me to prevent me from blowing his brains out." And P laughed loudly at this, making the engines exchange worried looks.  
"So, about three weeks ago, I was a bit bored and decided that I should do something interesting and fun. There were rumours about some weapon dealers working at the top of the Island, so I investigated. I used Augustus to communicate with them, and I brought a handgun. Then, I sold some more drugs and I brought a small cellphone and made plans to buy a grenade." P pulled the wooden box holding the grenade, and showed it to everyone. Rosie gasped, and Lady Hatt wrapped herself tighter around her husband's arm. "I thought to myself, what should I do with all of this. The answer was simple in the end: kill the man who ruined my life. If Mr. Hatt hadn't fired, I probably would still be working. I then read in the paper about a party and that he would be attending. I sent Augustus to cut his brakes, and then go and collect the grenade. I used an old friend to get me his cellphone number, and I could him, wanting to listen as he crashed. Augustus and I would then come here and blow him up if he was still alive." Everyone seemed stunned by this revelation, and P smiled at their shocked faces. "So come on, where is he?" No one said a word, but the snow had started to fall again. The sirens didn't seem to be getting any closer, but Rosie and Daisy could hear chuffing behind them.  
"There's smoke in the distance." Clarabel muttered. P was walking around the engines, the gun raised into the windows.  
"Come out soon Fatty, or you may find people will avoid your railway if someone is killed on a train." He growled, and lifted the gun up towards Daisy's windows. Sir Topham Hatt looked at his wife, and whispered that he was sorry. She let out a sob as he stood up, and walked out.  
"Here I am, you can stop threatening my passengers now." The controller said. P turned around, and smiled.  
"Nice to see you again." He snarled, and lifted his gun up, aiming for the stout man's forehead. All the engines gasped, and Lady Hatt sobbed uncontrollably.  
Then all hell broke loose.  
Unbeknownst to P, several passengers had called the police, and the signalman had also activated a terrorism alert bell. Now, around twenty police cars and four vans appeared on the scene, surrounding the entire area. Percy, Toby and Flora appeared as well, with three police cars following them as well. P swore loudly, and went to shot the Fat Controller, but Mavis and had reversed and was now in front of the officer.  
"You're going to have to get through me." She said, and honked her horn. P roared, dropping his gun, and clutched his ears.  
"What's wrong with him?" Kelly said. Augustus turned to the crane, and chuckled.  
"Can't you tell he's mentally deranged? He went a bit loopy in jail, and now watches blank T.V.'s and talks to people that aren't there. The thing he hates most in the world is noise, it really stuffs him up." He explained. The pack members all looked at each other.  
"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Jack said.  
"Of course." Isabella smiled. The five all started to honk their horns.  
"Blow your whistle sand honk your horns!" Alfie yelled. Mavis and Daisy honked loudly, and the steam engines all blew their whistles. Flora rang her bell, and Toby's crew swung his for him. P roared and screamed, and he pulled the grenade out.  
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" He boomed, and pulled the pin, and threw it towards the Pack. Isabella screamed, but it hit Kelly's crane and bounced off, landing in the Fat Controller's car. The engines had stopped honking and whistling, and for a few seconds, there was silence.  
Then the car exploded.  
The snowy white bank was blasted asides, as a fist of orange and yellow burst out of its frosty confinements. The force of the blast caused Daisy's windows to shatter, along with the Pack's headlights. Terence rolled backwards, his driver sent flying into another snowy field. P was picked up and smashed into Mavis. He fainted, and landed beside her sideplates, unconscious. Augustus was closer to the car, and was hit by a piece of flying metal as he was tossed into the air. He landed next to Lady Hatt, who screamed and ran to her husband. Police rushed in, and P and Augustus' limp bodies were handcuffed and rushed over to the cars.  
"Well, that was one hell of a night." Thomas muttered, and the all the others had to agree.


	13. Merry Christmas

11:30

The majority of the police cars had left, with only about four remaining. P and Augustus had been taken to the hospital, and the Hatts had followed soon after. Daisy and Mavis took the passengers to Toryreck, and Percy and Toby took the vehicles home. Flora took Henrietta and Victoria home with the volunteers, but Rosie remained with Thomas, who was now back on the rails after a lot of man power.  
"I think that we should head off now." Rosie said, and she rolled forwards.  
"Ok, great." Thomas muttered. Rosie rolled her eyes, and was coupled up to him. Rosie blew her whistle, and the two began to move backwards. Thomas was very quiet as they left, but Rosie wasn't going to have a bar of it.  
"One day you're going to have to admit it." The pink engine said.  
"Admit what?" Thomas grumbled.  
"Your feelings." Rosie replied, smiling. Thomas looked appalled, but he could see some logic in it.  
"You are a good friend..." Thomas began, but Rosie cut in.  
"Deny it all you want, but I know how you feel, and I plan to prove it." She said. "Annie and Clarabel have been talking to me about it, and they agree. All the coaches agree."  
"And, the coaches like to gossip." Thomas said, and Rosie chuckled. They continued their journey in silence, watching as the snow fell down onto them.

08:04 A.M. Christmas Day

The engines at Ffarquhar all slowly awoke, but as soon as their eyes were open, they were shocked at what had happened.  
Red, green and gold decorations hung above them, glistening from the early morning sun glowing from through the windows. Four small Christmas trees were in stands in the four corners of the sheds. One had tinsel wrapped around it, another had a collection of angels and small plastic people. The third had plastic snow attached to all the branches, and the final one had small present shaped decorations around it. Each one had a star on top, and fairy lights that blinked all the colours of the rainbow. Reeds were attached to each door, with the names of each engine and a respective stocking hanging underneath. Tinsel was also attached to the engines, draping from their funnels to cabs, and buffer to buffer. Daisy and the coaches had tinsel attached as well, along with stockings, reeds and decorated tree at the front of the shed. The engines all started to chat to each other, excited about what was going on, when the doors all opened. Their crews walked in, smiling to their engines. Then, they noticed Mavis was there, along with the Pack. Tinsel was hanging on Mavis as well, and she had a Santa had on. She came to a halt, and The Fat Controller stepped down, his arm in a blue cast and a bandage on his head.  
"Merry Christmas to you all!" He said, standing between the sheds and the others. "I just wanted to come and thank you all for your participation in the rescue of myself and my wife." The engines all cheered, and Percy looked at Toby.  
"I knew we'd celebrate Christmas!" He cried, and they all laughed.  
"Ok guys, time to get your gifts, then you will have to go to work!" The Fat Controller boomed. They all groaned, but gifts were soon distributed, which the crews and operators opened for them. Annie and Clarabel were having new upholstery opened by some workmen, which was promptly installed.  
"Look at them." Annie muttered. Clarabel looked, and they could see Thomas and Rosie, Percy and Flora, and Kelly and Isabella talking.  
"Love is in the air." Clarabel chuckled.  
"Who do you think is going to hook up?" Annie asked.  
"I don't know what the New Year will hold." Clarabel replied, and the two coaches giggled girlishly.  
"You're new upholstery is in." A worker said.  
"Thank you, Merry Christmas." The coaches said in unison, and went back to their gossiping, leaving the engines and machines to enjoy Christmas in their own way.


End file.
